Glossary Term – Person

Venture Smith (1729–1805) was a former slave who, in 1798, published his autobiography, A Narrative of the Life and Adventures of Venture, a Native of Africa: But Resident above Sixty Years in the United States of America, Related by Himself. Smith’s narrative recounted his capture and enslavement, and the hard work and ingenuity he employed in his journey to freedom. Smith lived as a slave for twenty-eight years. By 1765, he had saved enough money to buy his own freedom, and he later purchased freedom for...